Thecus N2520 review: first NAS with Intel Atom CE5315

The new Atom generation

By Frank EveraardtMonday July 22, 2013 12:58 AM

Introduction

We saw it at CeBIT for the first time, the Thecus N2520, and now we've been able to test it. It's the first NAS running on a new generation of processors: the Intel Atom CE5315. It's an SOC that was specially designed for these types of applications.

So Thecus is the first one to come out with a NAS with the new chip, and that it's slightly different can clearly be seen on the back. Next to the requisite gigabit network port there's also HDMI and an optical digital audio port. That means this NAS can be used as media player. The SoC is a 1.2 GHz dual-core Intel CE5315, assisted by 1 GB of RAM. On the back there are two USB 2.0 ports and there's one frontal USB 3.0 port.

The plastic chassis has a practical design. Behind a door you'll find the two hard disk slots, and installing them does not require a screwdriver. You just have to insert a plastic plate into the holes on the sides of the hard disks.